After arriving 30 minutes before my “Thunder On Ice” bobsleigh experience at the Whistler Sliding
Centre last winter, I walked to the interior
of the ice-covered track — host venue for
the sliding events during the 2010 Winter
Olympics — and watched, along with a
half-dozen others, over a period of about

10 minutes, as three skeleton racers flashed
by Corner 15. I say “flashed by,” because the
speed is difficult for someone who’s only
seen bobsleigh, skeleton and luge racing
on TV to comprehend. Standing just two
metres away, near the bottom of the track,
with racers travelling between 140 and 145

kilometres per hour, the speed is mind-numbing. To put it another way: Don’t blink
or you’ll miss it.

Standing just two metres away, near the bottom of the track, with racers travellingbetween 140 and 145 kilometres per hour, the speed is mind-numbing.